Ted Cruz, Rand Paul want drone language in CR

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) plan to try to attach a prohibition on drone strikes against American citizens on U.S. soil to the government-wide spending bill due up on the Senate floor next week, according to sources familiar with their legislation.

The Cruz-Paul bill would serve as the framework for an amendment to the continuing resolution, which would fund federal agencies, including the Pentagon, through Sept. 30.

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The amendment would build on Paul’s nearly 13-hour filibuster against new CIA director John Brennan over the program of aerial strikes from unmanned planes known as drones. The language would prohibit the federal government from using drones to target U.S. citizens in America unless the individual in question was about to kill or cause “serious bodily injury” to another person.

The deadline for passage of the government funding bill is March 27 — if Congress and the president can’t reach agreement on the spending resolution, the government would shut down. If Paul and Cruz are allowed to offer the drone amendment, it could cause trouble with Democrats and the White House.

Both House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Barack Obama have said they don’t want to hold up the CR and are hopeful about avoiding a shutdown. House and Senate negotiators had been trying to blunt the impact of the sequester, however, by making some important changes to the government-wide spending measure.

In a letter sent to Paul on Thursday, Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that the president does not have the authority to order drone strikes on American citizens in the U.S.

That led Paul to green light moving forward on the Brennan nomination — though he was a “no” on Brennan’s confirmation. But Paul and his allies, including Cruz and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, want more than just a letter. They want to codify the limitation on the president’s power.

The House on Thursday passed its version of the CR to shift billions of dollars to military operations to help the Army and Navy cope with automatic spending cuts ordered last week.

Senate Democrats plan to build on the House bill, with Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman by attaching full-year budgets to four more Cabinet departments. Science and space agencies would also benefit.